TY - JOUR AU - Johnson, Michael A.S. AU - Smith, Hannah AU - Joseph, Priya AU - Gilman, Robert H. AU - Bautista, Christian T. AU - Campos, Kalina J. AU - Cespedes, Michelle AU - Klatsky, Peter AU - Vidal, Carlos AU - Terry, Hilja AU - Calderon, Maritza M. AU - Coral, Carlos AU - Cabrera, Lilia AU - Parmar, Paminder S. AU - Vinetz, Joseph M. T1 - Environmental Exposure and Leptospirosis, Peru T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2004 VL - 10 IS - 6 SP - 1016 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Human infection by leptospires has highly variable clinical manifestations, ranging from subclinical infection to fulminant disease. We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional seroepidemiologic study in Peru to determine potential relationships of environmental context to human exposure to Leptospira and disease associated with seroconversion. Three areas were studied: a flooded, urban slum in the Peruvian Amazon city of Iquitos; rural, peri-Iquitos villages; and a desert shantytown near Lima. Seroprevalence in Belen was 28% (182/650); in rural areas, 17% (52/316); and in a desert shantytown, 0.7% (1/150). Leptospira-infected peridomestic rats were found in all locales. In Belen, 20 (12.4%) of 161 patients seroconverted between dry and wet seasons (an incidence rate of 288/1,000); seroconversion was associated with history of febrile illness; severe leptospirosis was not seen. Human exposure to Leptospira in the Iquitos region is high, likely related both to the ubiquity of leptospires in the environment and human behavior conducive to transmission from infected zoonotic sources. KW - Leptospirosis KW - Peru KW - Tropical Medicine KW - Rural Population KW - Epidemiology KW - Serology KW - Environmental Health DO - 10.3201/eid1006.030660 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/6/03-0660_article ER - End of Reference